The Pleasure Principle — Calista Fox

The year is 3091 and blockade runner Gizelle Sobera is determined to recover the largest lost treasure in the history of three galaxies. Claiming the bounty lost on PX330 (aka the Pleasure Planet) would help to supplement the resources and provisions needed by the Protective Forces of the Milky Way Galaxy as its inhabitants fight the invading forces of Gyllian. But when Gizelle discovers the gold has already been found, she knows exactly who has swiped the treasure from under her nose -- D.T. Vaughn, a pirate who's stolen a variety of booty from her…

D.T. is secretly known as Dylan Tanner, a legendary former Major General of the Protective Forces. He retired at the height of the fighting, after sixteen grueling and painful years of combat. Escaping to the Pleasure Planet, D.T. has set up a new life for himself. He frequents the Pleasure Clubs, but with an ulterior motive in mind, for D.T. is a spy who gleans important intel from the Pleasure Providers as he supports “the Cause” from afar.
Gizelle has recently discovered who D.T. is, though… And she's willing to use every power of persuasion she possesses to get him back into uniform. Succumbing to her would lead to D.T.'s return to a life he willingly left behind. Yet when Gizelle orchestrates the ultimate seduction, with a sexy stranger who looks remarkably similar to D.T., he knows he can't hide from his true destiny.
But can the pleasure of the moment erase the pain of the past?


To My Readers:
I've always loved reluctant heroes -- you know the kind that come across as only being in the fight for the girl, the money or the glory. But who, in the end, will put their own life on the line to save the day. (And get the girl!) My all-time favorite hero is Han Solo. So I suppose it was only a matter of time before I wrote a futuristic story starring a bad boy, reluctant hero. There's so much more to D.T. Vaughn than meets the eye… and Gizelle is the perfect woman to bring out all his hero-like qualities, while burning up the pages at the same time! Enjoy!

The Pleasure Principle

by

Calista Fox

Copyright © Calista Fox, 2010



All Rights Reserved, RED SAGE PUBLISHING, INC.




D.T. Vaughn took four long strides across the imported platinum floor of his oceanfront dwelling, turned sharply on his booted heels and took four more long strides.
All that gold!
It was all his. He'd transported it out of the cave and off the island mere minutes before Gizelle and her one-man crew had reached the cave.
Excellent timing on his part, to be sure. Granted, it wasn't easy out-smarting Gizelle. But it was a challenge he rose to on a regular occasion because, well, there just weren't many women like her who captivated him so completely. Who helped to set-up and then satiate his constant need for excitement. The thrill of the chase in any form turned D.T. on, as much as Gizelle herself did.
His first course of action in this particular chase had been to decode the coordinates of the map Gizelle had somehow managed to get her hands on. D.T. had swiped the coordinates and had worked through the puzzle almost as long as she had -- but he'd succeeded first, having discovered the destination of the gold months ahead of Gizelle. And though he'd waited until today to recover the bountiful treasure, he'd been planning this hunt all along. Knowing she'd want the gold, knowing she would eventually figure out where it was hidden.
Knowing she would do anything to get it back when she discovered it was missing.
A devious grin played on his lips as a warm, sultry breeze blew in through the wall of opened floor-to-ceiling windows. D.T. mentally patted himself on the back for his coup. Today, he'd stolen a boatload of gold, right out from underneath Gizelle's nose.
That made him damned clever and damned stupid at the same time.
His grin widened as he imagined her reaction to showing up two minutes too late to recover the gold.